Date published: March 2013
ISBN: 978-1-62242-625-6
Genre: Erotic contemporary
shifter; M/M
Book format: E-book
Obtained via: Publisher Gift
Reviewed by Keldon__
RAT
When skunk shifter Aldis Murray arrives in
Florida for his cousin’s mating party, the last thing he expected was meeting a
handsome and mesmerizing rhino shifter in the form of Gawain Templeton. Skunk
shifters are gifted with scent glands (!) that secrete a substance allowing sex
to go on for hours. Gawain has always wanted this experience, and is
immediately taken with Aldis, takes Aldis to his room, and then…takes Aldis.
Although happy to go along with Gawain’s proposition for sex minutes after
meeting, Aldis hopes to find someone that wants him, not just the experience of sex with a skunk shifter.
Thereafter ensues a series of
misunderstandings and arguments, which forms the bulk of the conflict. Aldis
tries to protect a cousin (whom we never meet) from an unwanted mating; in the
midst of a phone call between Aldis and the enforcing organization, Gawain
decides that the best way to show Aldis that he cares is to enter into a
four-year mating agreement. As Gawain’s gallant offer comes on the cusp of a huge
disagreement with Aldis, it seems improbable Aldis would accept, regardless of
the unseen cousin’s conflict.
Gawain has some baggage from centuries ago.
This plays out when David, Aldis’s ex-boyfriend from Scotland, happens to be in the United States, in Florida, and in Orlando on the very night Aldis and his crew are there. This
meeting felt very contrived. The subsequent showdown between Gawain and his
centuries-old nemesis David plays out in front of Aldis at a gay club set in
Disney World, with the intention of making Aldis see himself as valuable. The
accompanying public sex struck me as out of character for Aldis. The club
struck me as out of character for Disney World.
The only shifting in the book is a couple of
sentences where the stirred up Gawain shifts and trots around on the patio to
blow off steam. None of the various other shifters live up to their genre,
remaining human throughout.
Overall, the story felt forced, with
improbable events happening left and right to drive the plot. The book is
written in a first person point of view, with Gawain and Aldis alternating
chapters. At times, I lost track of whose head I was supposed to be in. In
addition, a rhino mating with a skunk didn’t fit well for me as far as shifter
pairings go. I don’t plan to check out the additional offerings that are likely
to accrue from the secondary characters.
__
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.
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